First look: Setting up the new iPhone 4S with iOS 5

Thanks to iOS 5, iPhone 4S marks the first generation of iOS devices capable of being fully setup and activated without ever plugging into iTunes. Here's what the process looks like.

iPhone 4S isn't the only model to take advantage of iOS 5's "PC free" setup. All new iOS devices now ship ready to use out of the box, and existing devices upgraded to iOS 5 no longer need to be connected to iTunes to first activate, nor is iTunes required to perform ongoing backups or software updates anymore.

Most competing mobile devices have always been "PC free" in the sense of begin able to set up and use right out of the box. Apple's iTunes-centric setup and maintenance for iOS devices initially helped make iPods, the iPhone and iPad easy to setup and use, but the process also involved some steps that could be frustrating, especially if your iTunes system wasn't available or if you didn't own a PC.

The new PC Free setup of iOS 5 means that all the advantages of having your music, videos, apps, books, documents, photos, backups and software updates managed through iTunes are still there: Apple still offers the best App Store experience, the easiest to use backup and recovery system and the fastest and least troublesome device sync and software update mechanism.

However, Apple has done away with the initial necessity of plugging into iTunes, and made the USB tether an alternative option to performing wireless setup, content purchasing and sync, backups, restorations and updates, thanks to new cloud integration. Users now have a choice.

Out of the box

iPhone 4S appears identical to the existing CDMA iPhone 4 sold by Verizon, apart from having a new SIM card slot that enables it also work on GSM/UMTS mobile networks. In fact, it looks so similar to Apple's previous model that you might mistake it for a Samsung product.

Same box, same accessories (adapter, USB cable, mic-integrated white earbuds), same dual-mobile antenna design (meaning it will work with Verizon iPhone 4 bumpers but not necessarily those designed for the original AT&T/UMTS iPhone 4, which has a slightly different lock switch positioning) and an identical external appearance of its camera (despite being significantly improved).

Apart from the SIM slot, the only other real difference between the iPhone 4S and the previous CDMA iPhone 4 is a new swath of European regulatory graphics on its back, something the Verizon-only model didn't need.

That makes for a rather tepid unboxing, but at least you now have photographic proof that the new model still comes with Apple stickers.

On page 2 of 3: Out with iTunes

Out with iTunes

While pulling the latest iPhone out of the box isn't a new experience, setting it up is. Rather than booting up to a graphic asking you to plug the device into iTunes, it now presents a simple "iPhone" graphic with an unlocking slider control to get started. There's also an information icon that, when touched, present the device's serial numbers.

Similar to setting up a new Mac, iOS 5 devices like iPhone 4S now step through a series of basic setup options, asking the user to first select a language and region. During the setup process, the background smoothly animates characters in a variety of languages and then a map, offering an initial taste of the iPhone's hardware accelerated graphics.

iOS 5 setup next asks the user to enable Location Services or not, offering a link that outlines exactly what that means.

Next, iOS 5 asks the user to select a Wi-Fi network or use the cellular network to obtain Internet access, and subsequently activates. The page warns this step might take up to three minutes. The first phone we activated on Sprint activated immediately, but our AT&T model sat in an activation queue for a very long time (hours). However, even after activating properly on Sprint, the phone subsequently said there was no service for the next ten minutes.

The phone reported, "Were sorry. There was a problem completing your activation.You can restart the activation process by turning your iPhone off and on. If activating via iTunes, please disconnect and reconnect your iPhone."

On page 3 of 3: iCloud options

iCloud options

Next: choose whether to set up the device as a new iPhone or restore your previous content and settings from an iCloud or iTunes backup. After setting up new, iOS 5 asks for your Apple ID. But since Sprint service hadn't yet begun working, we got a warning saying there was no network connection and asking if we wanted to skip the Apple ID step or continue configuring an alternative data connection.

If you opt to skip entering an Apple ID (or setting up a new one), Apple warns that a variety of services depend on having an account, and that setting up a new one is "free and easy." Once entered, the Apple ID setup occured quickly.

An Apple ID is the login you use for just about everything you do with Apple, the setup instructions explain, including configuring iCloud services, downloading software from the App Store, buying songs and video through the iTunes Store, connecting to FaceTime & iMessage, managing game achievements and challenging other players in Game Center, using Find My iPhone, iBooks, Apples online retail store, and to make Genius Bar appointments.

After entering or setting up a new Apple ID, iOS 5 asks you if you want to use iCloud, and outlines what the free service offers. Subsequent steps ask you if you want to backup to iCloud or to your local computer using iTunes; whether you want to set up Find My Phone and whether you want to activate Siri, explaining what those choices mean along the way.

Once finished, you're dropped at the Home screen and encouraged to try using Siri (if the service is available in your language). A companion "first look" followup profiles how Siri works in practice.

Old Macbook Pro user but new to the iphone. The phones on my plan are ready to renew and I am going to renew them with the iphone 4S. My question is, can you activate different phones with the same Apple ID?

A lot of people have their GMail address as their Apple ID, but would love a free, new, push and ad-free me.COM e-mail address for Mail and Apple's new services.

The whole thing is way too fiddly and complex for existing Apple ID users. And, frankly, very un-Apple.

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It's funny, new-to-Apple users have a much simpler set up. And can snap up a me.com Apple ID and e-mail address worry-free.

I too found this confusing and annoying. The fact is, you can sign up for iCloud without your usual Gmail-(or whatever service) connected Apple ID. Just create a new Apple ID, with a new me.com address, when you sign up for iCloud. You'll continue to use your old ID for iTunes purchases, signing into Apple Support, shopping at the Apple Store, etc. Working fine for me, iCloud doesn't care that my music etc. "belongs" to a different ID.

It took a long time for me to understand this, since Apple doesn't say explicitly (at least that I saw) that you can do this, that when you join iCloud you are in effect creating a new ID.

I too found this confusing and annoying. The fact is, you can sign up for iCloud without your usual Gmail-(or whatever service) connected Apple ID. Just create a new Apple ID, with a new me.com address, when you sign up for iCloud. You'll continue to use your old ID for iTunes purchases, signing into Apple Support, shopping at the Apple Store, etc. Working fine for me, iCloud doesn't care that my music etc. "belongs" to a different ID

Yes, but when setting up iOS 5 and being asked if you have an Apple ID you do you'd be hard pressed not to type it in. And if you choose to create a new one because you are aware you can get an ad-free push me account during setup you end up with two Apple ID's and more complexity down the road.

Nowhere I have found a clear explanation of how to set up things such that
- purchases of iMac Apps, iOS Apps, even Music make use of the AppleID of the one who controls (i.e., who manages) all those devices
- strictly personal stuff such as e-mail, calendars, addressBook, bookmarks make use of a personal ID for each family member.

Sharing of (selected, if not most) photos, addressBook entries, movies and music should be possible (easy, really), so the entire family can benefit; and stuff doesn't get forgotten (= almost the same as "lost") because someone is hoarding e.g., pictures, or just happens to have stored his USB stick contents in iPhoto on his account.

In my particular case, I am the one who controls many devices, but my wife and kids are on the mobileMe family account.
What I should be moving to is a situation where at least app purchases continue to use the original AppleID, and every individual should have his personal ID for email and the like.

For me, that would mean I need to create a personal ID and connect email, addressBook, bookmarks, etc to it.

The other family members, I read, can move their family-mobileMe personal username to a new account, but maintenance of their devices should remain with my original appleID.

Why is nobody discussing exactly this situation? To me it appears it would be the typical case for every family-mobileMe arrangement.

Yes, but when setting up iOS 5 and being asked if you have an Apple ID you do you'd be hard pressed not to type it in. And if you choose to create a new one because you are aware you can get an ad-free push me account during setup you end up with two Apple ID's and more complexity down the road.

Doesn't everyone who signs up for iCloud get an @me.com email address?

So, just sign up with your current Apple ID account, create your @me.com address, change the email address on your Apple ID account, which is not a big deal to do, to your @me.com address. (Your Apple ID is not your email address, that's just an easy to remember identifier, like uid/user) Maybe I misread the problem?

Doesn't everyone who signs up for iCloud get an @me.com email address?

So, just sign up with your current Apple ID account, create your @me.com address, change the email address on your Apple ID account, which is not a big deal to do, to your @me.com address. (Your Apple ID is not your email address, that's just an easy to remember identifier, like uid/user) Maybe I misread the problem?

I think the problem really arises if you already have an AppleID for iTunes and a different me.com account/email address. You can't add your existing me.com address to your other AppleID account - it cannot be verified on more than one account.

A lot of people have their GMail address as their Apple ID, but would love a free, new, push and ad-free me.COM e-mail address for Mail and Apple's new services.

The whole thing is way too fiddly and complex for existing Apple ID users. And, frankly, very un-Apple.

- - -

It's funny, new-to-Apple users have a much simpler set up. And can snap up a me.com Apple ID and e-mail address worry-free.

This is not an issue for anyone. Anyone can set up an iCloud account and use it in conjunction with their iTunes account.

The fact that your iTunes account wasn't an Apple ID to begin with isn't Apple's fault/problem. It became apparent years ago (not just now with iCloud) that having an Apple ID as an iTunes account was the smart way to go...and they're only reinforcing it.

A lot of people have their GMail address as their Apple ID, but would love a free, new, push and ad-free me.COM e-mail address for Mail and Apple's new services.

The whole thing is way too fiddly and complex for existing Apple ID users. And, frankly, very un-Apple.

- - -

It's funny, new-to-Apple users have a much simpler set up. And can snap up a me.com Apple ID and e-mail address worry-free.

I don't get why you say this it's too complex? Has Apple ID change policy changed recently? I changed my Apple ID from Hotmail to Gmail about 4 months ago and it was easy as pie. The only thing you have to do is type in your new Apple ID and verify the three-digit security code for your credit card.

I don't get why you say this it's too complex? Has Apple ID change policy changed recently? I changed my Apple ID from Hotmail to Gmail about 4 months ago and it was easy as pie. The only thing you have to do is type in your new Apple ID and verify the three-digit security code for your credit card.

I don't get why you say this it's too complex? Has Apple ID change policy changed recently? I changed my Apple ID from Hotmail to Gmail about 4 months ago and it was easy as pie. The only thing you have to do is type in your new Apple ID and verify the three-digit security code for your credit card.

I don't get why you say this it's too complex? Has Apple ID change policy changed recently? I changed my Apple ID from Hotmail to Gmail about 4 months ago and it was easy as pie. The only thing you have to do is type in your new Apple ID and verify the three-digit security code for your credit card.

If you try to create a me.com e-mail address through iOS 5 or System Prefs in 10.7.2 Apple creates a new Apple ID for it.

You can login in to "appleid.apple.com" and if you have a GMail address as your Apple ID you can change/edit that Apple ID and e-mail address in one box to any e-mail address you like - with one exemption: me.com addresses, because Apple considers them a separate Apple ID.

You can, but not if the email address that you want to change it to is an existing me.com address verified on a different account. That's the problem for most people in this situation I believe.

Can you change it to any email address -- not an @me.com address -- that's already on a different account? I've never tried to do that, but I'd think probably not. Otherwise, how would they know which account you were trying to log into, or which password to verify against?

It seems to me that there has to be a one-to-one relationship between Apple ID accounts and email addresses.

Edit: You could probably have multiple email addresses point to a single Apple ID account (if Apple wanted to allow it to work that way) but you can't have two accounts pointed to by a single email address.

This too is what I'm trying to get answered. While setting up iOS 5, when you choose to log in using an existing apple ID, do you get a new me.com email address or not???? I think that's what the confusion is for the original poster.

For example, In my situation, I have an apple ID which is username@gmail.com. I have been using using this for years in App Store, iTunes, etc. I never had mobileme, .Mac, etc on this account. However I also want an icloud me.com eMail address. In the process of setting up icloud on my iPhone with my existing username@gmail.com apple ID, will I be offered the opportunity to create a new me.com address and have it "tied" to my existing apple ID "username@gmail.com"??? Or in the process of creating this new xyz@me.com address will it also create a new apple ID named "xyz@me.com" separate from my existing "username@gmail.com"???

This too is what I'm trying to get answered. While setting up iOS 5, when you choose to log in using an existing apple ID, do you get a new me.com email address or not???? I think that's what the confusion is for the original poster.

For example, In my situation, I have an apple ID which is username@gmail.com. I have been using using this for years in App Store, iTunes, etc. I never had mobileme, .Mac, etc on this account. However I also want an icloud me.com eMail address. In the process of setting up icloud on my iPhone with my existing username@gmail.com apple ID, will I be offered the opportunity to create a new me.com address and have it "tied" to my existing apple ID "username@gmail.com"??? Or in the process of creating this new xyz@me.com address will it also create a new apple ID named "xyz@me.com" separate from my existing "username@gmail.com"???

You have to have a me.com address for the account, so if you are not migrating an existing me.com address then, yes, you will be prompted to choose a new me.com address. That bit works just fine.

You have to have a me.com address for the account, so if you are not migrating an existing me.com address then, yes, you will be prompted to choose a new me.com address. That bit works just fine.

Thanks for your info. Just to be crystal clear, you are claiming that during the setup process of iOS 5 on my iPhone 4, if I choose the option to use my existing Apple ID (username@gmail.com), that I will still be prompted to create a new xyz@me.com e-mail address --- however that new me.com e-mail address will be "tied" to my existing Apple ID (username @gmail.com)? In other words, the new xyz@me.com will just be another e-mail address "on-file" of my existing Apple ID (username@gmail.com)??